Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education
Taboos are not a new phenomenon. Yet, taboos change over time as social customs change, discard old taboos, and create new ones. What does not change, however, is how taboos regulate the way in which we live together in different communities and how they influence our behaviours. Notwithstanding the...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis
2023
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| Online Access: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61402 |
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| author | Ludwig, Christian Summer, Theresa |
| author_browse | Ludwig, Christian Summer, Theresa |
| author_facet | Ludwig, Christian Summer, Theresa |
| author_sort | Ludwig, Christian |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Taboos are not a new phenomenon. Yet, taboos change over time as social customs change, discard old taboos, and create new ones. What does not change, however, is how taboos regulate the way in which we live together in different communities and how they influence our behaviours. Notwithstanding the ubiquity of all sorts of taboos in daily life, many of them do not seem to find their way into foreign language classrooms easily. This is particularly surprising if we consider the growing importance of critical language pedagogy approaches to foreign language learning. Despite relevant efforts there, teachers, pre-service teachers, and learners often appear to feel discomfort as conversations about controversial issues such as mental illnesses, disabilities, racism, conspiracy theories, violence, and gender unfold. Consequently, classroom materials as well as suitable approaches to these issues in foreign language learning are needed. Taking this as a starting point, this introductory chapter argues for the integration of taboos and controversial topics into the foreign language classroom. It first investigates the concept of critical pedagogy in general and critical (foreign) language pedagogy more specifically. It then discusses taboos in the context of critical language pedagogy, arguing that despite numerous challenges, the foreign language classroom provides the perfect space for discussing some controversial topics with students—primarily by exploring a variety of different texts dealing with taboos instead of personalising a topic, which would be more common in communicative approaches. The chapter closes with a practical framework that provides suggestions for handling taboos in foreign language education. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-97903 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| publisherStr | Taylor & Francis |
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| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-979032025-07-17T12:15:58Z Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education Ludwig, Christian Summer, Theresa Critical language pedagogy; taboo topics; controversial topics; PARSNIP; foreign language education; foreign language teaching; foreign language learning; critical literacies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education Taboos are not a new phenomenon. Yet, taboos change over time as social customs change, discard old taboos, and create new ones. What does not change, however, is how taboos regulate the way in which we live together in different communities and how they influence our behaviours. Notwithstanding the ubiquity of all sorts of taboos in daily life, many of them do not seem to find their way into foreign language classrooms easily. This is particularly surprising if we consider the growing importance of critical language pedagogy approaches to foreign language learning. Despite relevant efforts there, teachers, pre-service teachers, and learners often appear to feel discomfort as conversations about controversial issues such as mental illnesses, disabilities, racism, conspiracy theories, violence, and gender unfold. Consequently, classroom materials as well as suitable approaches to these issues in foreign language learning are needed. Taking this as a starting point, this introductory chapter argues for the integration of taboos and controversial topics into the foreign language classroom. It first investigates the concept of critical pedagogy in general and critical (foreign) language pedagogy more specifically. It then discusses taboos in the context of critical language pedagogy, arguing that despite numerous challenges, the foreign language classroom provides the perfect space for discussing some controversial topics with students—primarily by exploring a variety of different texts dealing with taboos instead of personalising a topic, which would be more common in communicative approaches. The chapter closes with a practical framework that provides suggestions for handling taboos in foreign language education. 2023-03-03T06:16:42Z 2023-03-03T06:16:42Z 2023-02-23T10:50:30Z 2023 chapter https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61402 9781032116075 9781032116105 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/97903 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International Attribution 4.0 International Attribution 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/61402/1/9781003220701_10.4324_9781003220701-2.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/61402/1/9781003220701_10.4324_9781003220701-2.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/61402/1/9781003220701_10.4324_9781003220701-2.pdf Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9781003220701-2 10.4324/9781003220701-2 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education 9781032116075 9781032116105 Routledge 21 open access |
| spellingShingle | Critical language pedagogy; taboo topics; controversial topics; PARSNIP; foreign language education; foreign language teaching; foreign language learning; critical literacies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education Ludwig, Christian Summer, Theresa Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title | Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title_full | Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title_fullStr | Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title_short | Chapter 1 Approaching Taboos and Controversial Issues in Foreign Language Education |
| title_sort | chapter 1 approaching taboos and controversial issues in foreign language education |
| topic | Critical language pedagogy; taboo topics; controversial topics; PARSNIP; foreign language education; foreign language teaching; foreign language learning; critical literacies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education |
| topic_facet | Critical language pedagogy; taboo topics; controversial topics; PARSNIP; foreign language education; foreign language teaching; foreign language learning; critical literacies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61402 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ludwigchristian chapter1approachingtaboosandcontroversialissuesinforeignlanguageeducation AT summertheresa chapter1approachingtaboosandcontroversialissuesinforeignlanguageeducation |